inspiration

BITS IN THE GARDEN OF THE LORD

/ joseph elon lillie / 4 Comments

My yard has been completely neglected for the last seven years. Every year I keep meaning to “get back to it”, only to be sidelined by other projects. This year I am actually making some headway with the grounds of the Vicarage.

The garden boxes have been moved and all but one are filled with dirt and planted.

We have weeded the front gardens twice. I have to say they are filling in nicely this year. The irises are giving way to the day lilies and it is time to weed the gardens again. It just about time to bring in the first harvest of mint for tea.

It is also time to mow the lawn for the fourth time.

As you can see we have done a good job at encouraging the ferns to grow.

I have asked myself what is different this year from the last seven years.

  1. I think some of this is therapy helping me cope with the loss of my mom. It is certainly filling time I used to spend caregiving.
  2. Something has shifted in the level of importance I am giving the house. I am not sure exactly why, but this feels like part of the ministry right now. It feels almost like a prophetic work. I am going to have to ponder on that.
  3. I am not doing this alone. The kids are helping me as I work towards the finished product. Joe helped me move the garden boxes. Kristine and Joe have helped me move some dirt. Melanie and Kristine have done some weeding and Kristine has overseen the buying of the new chicken coop and chickens soon to be a part of There Vicarage farm.
  4. Perhaps the most significant change is that I have learned how to break this work down into small bits. I cannot and do not work for hours and hours on the gardens like I used to try to do. I am contenting myself at working on the yard for thirty minutes a day sometimes less. AND I celebrate the small forward movements. Each wheelbarrow of dirt moved is a win. It may not be fast, but it is significant.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU DO TO GET BIG JOBS DONE OVER TIME?

PREPARE YOUR HOPE PT. 3

/ joseph elon lillie / Leave a comment

This year our church has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

I am breaking these seven prepare statements into 21 daily devotional thoughts which I am sharing once a week. We are currently on…

WEEK 18- Prepare your hope and faith( think hope, speak hope, act in hope).

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

We have established that thinking in hope and speaking hope in the days ahead is going to be absolutely necessary. But there is something more… James writes, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

If we want to change ourself we must change how we view ourselves, how we think about ourselves. But if we want to change the world (which is part of our mission statement by the way) then we have to change the way we speak and change the way we behave.

WHAT ARE SOME ACTS OF HOPE YOU ARE BEING LED TO DO?

A Day Off At the Vicarage

/ joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

Sabbath days at the Vicarage come on Wednesdays. One of the things I’ve learned about Sabbath is that the rest that comes with it is really just a change of rhythm.

I spend a lot of time in prayer on Sabbath. That is not different than any other day, but I am not preparing for a ministry work on Wednesdays so the prayer I do on Sabbath is more of a restorative prayer.

I love to start the sabbath with a gentle walk through the gardens.

Again,that is not different than any other day, but the purpose is different. On my sabbath, I walk the garden to notice what is growing, to take time to enjoy the scent of the garden. Every other day of the week I am planning on what job I have to do in the garden.

This morning, I walked the garden with my cell phone as I was talking to Brenda. She enjoyed the garden with me.

I had Sevy with me for the sabbath morning. Again that is not different than any other day. I have been watching him while his mother works at the local community college. Usually my daughter Amanda watches him, but she is recovering from surgery so Sevy has been staying with “Oz” (that’s what the grandkids call me).

Today, Sevy and I went shopping for some new summer shirts, but only after we watched a few episodes of what he calls “Bickey Bouse”

Then we went to one of the local playgrounds.

After picking up my daughter-in-law from work, I went to have fun in the garden.

After some more prayer and a supper of pork Sinagang, white rice and watermelon, the dogs and I are enjoying a cup of coffee while the sun sets.

It was a perfect day off.

What’s your idea of a perfect day off?